Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil are all performing well below their expected goal rates, and while Sanchez has been out for ages and Ozil has been laying on the goals rather than scoring them, it’s clear that someone needs to step up and help Giroud shoulder the burden.

What is expected goal rate?

Expected goal rate essentially measures a player’s current rate of finishing. It accounts for a number of factors that could affect the likelihood of a shot going in (distance from goal, angle etc), and then gives each shot a probability of becoming a goal.

Therefore, if a player is performing above/below their expected goal rate, they are scoring more/less chances than they would normally be expected to.